Police Station, Interrogation Room.
After brief questioning, only key personnel remained while all the onlookers had been sent home.
He Yingjie was on duty today. Scanning the room, his gaze eventually settled on Jiang Ye, and he couldn’t help but feel a wave of helplessness. This brother-in-law of his was truly troublesome—what kind of trouble had he stirred up this time?
Jiang Ye leaned lazily against the wall. Seeing He Yingjie’s expression, he knew he was being silently criticized and chuckled, “Why are you staring at me like that? I’m not my second sister.”
The sudden teasing made the thirty-year-old tough guy’s ears instantly turn red—though it was unclear whether from anger or embarrassment.
He Yingjie ignored him, clearing his throat to get down to business. “Hou Lin, you were the first to discover this. Tell us what you saw.”
“Be serious. This is an official statement. Think carefully before you speak.”
“Yes.” Hou Lin stood ramrod straight, his attitude extremely respectful.
“This morning, while passing by the ancestral temple, I saw a girl entering. I thought to myself, since burning incense and praying isn’t common these days, what was she doing there? Worried she might be in danger, I followed her in. To my surprise, she was meeting a man for a rendezvous. The moment they saw each other, they started… passionately kissing.”
Hou Lin scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and added, “They even started putting their hands under each other’s clothes…”
As the scandalous scene was described again, Su Jincheng and Cai Xiaolan felt they had lost all dignity for the rest of their lives.
They were both humiliated and furious, yet powerless to do anything.
“Ahem, stick to the key points,” He Yingjie reminded him appropriately.
“Oh, right. I thought, if they were a normal married couple, they could’ve just done… that sort of thing at home. Sneaking out to do it meant their relationship was definitely improper! So I went to find Granny Li. After all, she used to be the Neighborhood Committee Director and lives close to the ancestral temple.”
At this point, Granny Li chimed in, “That’s right. After I found out, I hurried to the ancestral temple. This is illicit relations between men and women—they must be arrested and severely punished. On the way, I happened to run into my old friends, so we all went together. There’s strength in numbers, after all.”
In reality, her old friends had been eager to join once they heard there was drama to witness.
Seeing them all nod in agreement, He Yingjie motioned for Granny Li to continue.
“When we barged in, we saw the two of them… The woman was… sitting on top of the man…”
“Ahem, the key points.”
Su Jincheng and Cai Xiaolan suffered another blow, shrinking further into the corner.
Wu Mengzhi turned her face away, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the floor out of sheer embarrassment.
Noticing their reactions, Granny Li snorted coldly and went on, “Then I began questioning them. They claimed they were in a relationship and had gotten carried away in the heat of the moment.”
“I wasn’t convinced, but they insisted they weren’t lying. Who knew they’d be proven wrong so quickly? Soon after, a young girl came in and said she was the man’s actual fiancée.”
At this point, Ruan Tang stepped forward. “I am indeed Su Jincheng’s fiancée. Both our mothers are here—they can vouch for us.”
Ruan Mu quickly added, “Yes, yes. They were even betrothed since childhood as part of a arranged marriage.”
Wu Mengzhi felt utterly ashamed but had no choice but to face the situation. Meeting He Yingjie’s gaze, she forced an awkward smile and nodded.
He Yingjie turned to Ruan Tang. “Why did you happen to go there, and at such a timely moment?”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t as simple as it seemed—every step felt too coincidental, as if someone were pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Ruan Tang blinked her large, dewy eyes and spoke unhurriedly, “Today, I originally went to discuss marriage matters with Su Jincheng. When passing by the family temple, I heard arguing inside. Thinking something serious had happened, I went in.”
“Then I saw Su Jincheng and Cai Xiaolan standing there with their clothes in disarray.”
“The aunties were kind enough to explain the whole story to me, and later my mother arrived.”
Next, Ruan Mu and Wu Mengzhi also explained how they came to be there, shifting the focus back to Hou Lin.
Hou Lin trembled inwardly under He Yingjie’s stare but maintained a cheerful expression.
“Hehe, I meant well. Adults should oversee matters between young people. When I heard they were from the cotton mill, I immediately went there. After some inquiries, I found the right people and told them the whole story.”
“Comrade officer, I wasn’t causing trouble—I was just trying to help sort things out.”
Su Jincheng: “…”
Cai Xiaolan: “…”
Wu Mengzhi: “…”
All three stared at Hou Lin as if they wanted to skin him alive.
Under their death glares, Hou Lin inwardly wailed: Brother Ye, in the end, it’s your little brother who shouldered everything for you.
He Yingjie rubbed his temples and turned to Jiang Ye. “Explain yourself. Why were you there, and what role did you play?”
Jiang Ye spread his hands, looking innocent.
“Just watching the show. You know me—I go wherever there’s excitement.”
To protect Ruan Tang’s reputation and avoid giving people anything to gossip about, he had to remain a spectator.
He Yingjie was speechless.
But he couldn’t refute it.
He reviewed the written record. In summary, Su Jincheng was two-timing—engaged to one woman while dating another—and was caught in the act with his mistress by his fiancée.
He Yingjie looked at Ruan Tang. “How do you want to resolve this?”
Ruan Tang stood by her original statement. “Cancel the engagement and make them face due punishment.”
At this, Wu Mengzhi was the first to object. “Tangtang, I’ve already agreed to your marriage. Let’s just drop this matter.”
Before Ruan Tang could respond, Cai Xiaolan burst into tears.
After all her scheming and having lost all dignity, she wouldn’t let her prize slip away.
Wiping her tears, Cai Xiaolan cried loudly, “Auntie, I’ve given my innocence to Brother Jincheng! If you abandon me now, how can I ever show my face again? I don’t want to live!”
She made as if to run headfirst into the wall.
The aunties, afraid she might crash into them, quickly scrambled aside.
Su Jincheng, genuinely distressed, held Cai Xiaolan and promised, “Don’t do anything foolish. I’ll marry you.”
Wu Mengzhi was so angry she felt like vomiting blood.
Pretending to comfort Cai Xiaolan, she leaned close to Su Jincheng and whispered through gritted teeth, “We can’t break off the engagement yet.”
Though confused, Su Jincheng hesitated.
Cai Xiaolan knew Su Jincheng obeyed his mother completely. If she didn’t fight for herself, her chance to marry into the Su family would vanish.
Thinking this, she seized the moment to whisper in Wu Mengzhi’s ear, “If I turn against you, choose one: indecency charge or rape charge.”
Wu Mengzhi was stunned.
She hadn’t even settled scores with this little slut, and now she was being threatened.
If looks could kill, Wu Mengzhi would have sliced Cai Xiaolan to pieces a hundred times over.
Accustomed to being in charge at home and holding a leadership position at the mill, she had never been threatened like this before.
But for Su Jincheng’s sake, Wu Mengzhi knew she had to endure this even if it meant gritting her teeth until they shattered.
Taking several deep breaths, Wu Mengzhi smiled faintly and said, “It was my oversight earlier. We agree to cancel the engagement.”
He Yingjie nodded and had everyone sign the written statement.
“What? That’s it? It’s settled just like that?” Jiang Ye expressed dissatisfaction.
He Yingjie glared at him, “What else do you want then?”
“At the very least, someone who engages in illicit affairs should be sent down to the farms!”
He couldn’t stand the sight of that scoundrel remaining in the city, and who knew if the young girl still had feelings for him.
He Yingjie looked at Ruan Tang and Ruan Mu, “Are you both satisfied with this outcome?”
Ruan Tang glanced at Jiang Ye and nodded, “We accept.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to pursue the matter further, but there was no winning when an egg strikes a rock.
Su Jincheng’s father, Su Zhenghua, was the deputy director of the Ge Weihui – he would never allow Su Jincheng to be sent down.
If they were to truly break off all relations, it would be their family who would suffer in the end.
After all, her mother still worked under Wu Mengzhi, and her father and eldest brother were also employed in the transportation department of the cotton mill. If Wu Mengzhi were to deliberately cause trouble, their family would have no means to resist.
Moreover, she had already achieved her goal of canceling the engagement.
Jiang Ye thought Ruan Tang was being soft-hearted and felt somewhat annoyed. He turned to leave, but as soon as he opened the door, he bumped into someone.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”